The Wallflower
by Spike868
Summary: Willow is what she is, and she is the Wallflower. PreBTVS, and also into the seasons. SPOILERS FOR ALL SEASONS.


The Wallflower

She is the Wallflower. She hangs around in the background and nobody notices. School is always a drag, and she often finds herself tutoring students in subjects ranging from Math to English. Every so often, one of the guys on the football team approaches her and demands an assignment completed for the next day or week. She always delivers on time with brilliant work. Xander gets jealous.

"I have to do their assignments as well as my own." She complains to her only friend in the entire school as listens intently to her. They've known each other since they were just 5, when they first dated. What sweet, innocent young kids they were…

As she becomes known as the person to go to in school for academic help, she soon raises the bar for herself in society. People actually give her looks; they give her smiles. They acknowledge that she is there, and the wallflower that she was begins to fade.

"I'm afraid that I'll change Xander." She whispers to her friend in the schoolyard. She's writing out an essay for the star quarterback ready for his next English lesson.

"Don't be Will, you'll never change. I don't want you to change; I like you just the way you are." Xander assures her that he'll always be there and that she should not worry so much about who she's changing into. She'll always be the same old Willow to him.

"Thanks Xander." She smiled warmly at him and returns to the paper in her lap. And just as a normal day goes by, so does another. Willow attends her classes, many with Xander. And remains the pushed-around Wallflower that she always was. Only now, she notices that she's changing. Xander denies it, saying he'll always be hers and she'll always be his, but she can feel it. The Wallflower in her is changing, and she's no longer the person who sits off to the side. She's more than that; she's a part of something.

But what?

And then she comes along. Buffy. When she comes, the Wallflower realises why she's changing. She's welcoming someone new, and showing them how to be normal. She's not a star athlete, or a great musician. Sure, she's pretty smart, but only on an average level and only at some subjects, the more brainy ones. When it comes to things like PE, music and art – she's not the person to ask about how to get it right. She just sits back and lets the arty people take control of the situation, saving her book smarts for Math, Science and English instead.

But this girl Buffy was different. She wasn't that good at any of the subjects, having to ask Willow for help in Math. Yet she seemed to be distinctively different. She seemed… almost special in some way. And then she learned of Buffy's secret. She learned what Buffy was hiding, and took it on-board to hide the secret herself. She'd made a new friend, and the Wallflower in her was beginning to fade. More and more each day, she seemed to stand out. And then the day came when the Wallflower in her was completely gone, and she was able to be a bubbly young teen, as she should have been all along. Popularity was never a major issue; she just wanted to get through school alive.

Buffy made life interesting, and Willow couldn't resist. Yet years later, after brushes with things she could have never imagined without Buffy around, Willow realised that maybe she should have been bolder back in high school. Maybe, just maybe, she should have stood up and stamped out all that she didn't believe in. Things may have been different for her. She may not have dated a werewolf, become gay, become addicted to the magicks, turn evil or learn to wield her power in a way that would help thousands throughout the world.

Little did she know of what she could have changed about herself if she had beaten who she was back then. But the Wallflower in her prevented her from doing anything. She was just too shy, too afraid. She feared becoming more than who she was, changing too much. She wanted to stay the same, but Buffy changed everything. Before Buffy, Willow was just Willow. She _was_ shy, she _was_ afraid; but Xander loved her for who she was. And she was nothing more than a Wallflower.

Author's Note: A little ditty that came to me while I was having dinner. It may seem kinda lame, but just think about it. Before Buffy, Willow was shy, afraid and fairly withdrawn from the high school society. Then Buffy came along and everything changed dramatically. She could have just stayed the pretty little Wallflower that Xander loved, but then again, she couldn't.


End file.
